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Dido and Aeneas
Classical · 1986 · 16 tracks

Dido and Aeneas

Henry Purcell

Stately English Baroque opera defined by its devastating final lament. A compact tragedy of mythological proportions told through fragile strings and haunting choral work.

1986 · Philips Digital Classics

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This 1986 recording of Purcell's only true opera captures the delicate balance between theatrical artifice and raw human emotion. It is a work that feels remarkably intimate for the genre: rather than the sprawling maximalism of later Italian or German opera, this is a chamber work that breathes with the listener. The sonic palette is dominated by the crisp, rhythmic snap of the harpsichord and the weeping textures of period strings, creating a world that feels both ancient and immediate. It is a world of shadows, where the supernatural and the deeply personal collide in the space of just an hour.

Tracklist · 16 Tracks
01
Dido and Aeneas: Overture
2:10
02
Dido and Aeneas: Act I. “Shake the cloud from off your brow”
1:13
03
Dido and Aeneas: Act I. “Ah! Belinda, I am prest with torment”
5:41
04
Dido and Aeneas: Act I. “Whence could so much virtue spring?” – “Fear no danger”
3:33
05
Dido and Aeneas: Act I. “See, your royal guest appears” – “If not for mine” – “To the hills and the vales” – The Triumphing Dance
5:22
06
Dido and Aeneas: Act II, Scene 1. Prelude for the Witches
1:01
07
Dido and Aeneas: Act II, Scene 1. “Wayward sisters” – “But ere we this perform”
4:59
08
Dido and Aeneas: Act II, Scene 1. “In our deep vaulted cell” – Echo Dance of the Furies
2:23
09
Dido and Aeneas: Act II, Scene 2. Ritornelle – “Thanks to these lonesome vales”
3:28
10
Dido and Aeneas: Act II, Scene 2. “Oft she visits” – “Behold, upon my bending spear”
3:25
11
Dido and Aeneas: Act II, Scene 2. “Stay, Prince” – “Jove’s commands shall be obey’d”
3:20
12
Dido and Aeneas: Act III, Scene 1. Prelude – “Come away, fellow sailors”
1:41
13
Dido and Aeneas: Act III, Scene 1. The Sailor’s Dance – “See the flags” – “Destruction’s our delight” – The Witches’ Dance
4:24
14
Dido and Aeneas: Act III, Scene 2. “Your counsel all is urged in vain” – “But death, alas!”
5:34
15
Dido and Aeneas: Act III, Scene 2. “Thy hand, Belinda … When I am laid in earth”
5:23
16
Dido and Aeneas: Act III, Scene 2. “With drooping wings”
4:46
Moments Worth Listening For
The ground bass in When I am laid in earth providing a relentless foundation for the soprano's descent
The sudden jarring shift from the sailors boisterous chorus to the impending doom of the witches plot
The final chorus With drooping wings where the voices mimic the falling of tears through descending melodic lines
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Where This Album DepartsEach spoke is a trait. The orange shape shows where this album pulls away from — or holds to — the rest of the artist’s catalogue. Tap for more.

How does Dido and Aeneas sound next to the rest of Henry Purcell's catalogue?

Melancholic+2.1σ

Melancholic saturates this record far more than the artist's norm.

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